Zimbabwean rescuers pulled the bodies of at least 22 illegal gold miners out of shafts west of Harare that were flooded earlier in the week, and rescued eight more alive, officials and witnesses said on Saturday.
Eight artisanal miners who were trapped underground for several days after heavy flooding in Zimbabwe have been rescued, though some of their co-workers are still missing and feared dead.
Relatives of trapped illegal Zimbabwean gold miners on Friday expressed frustration at the slow pace of rescue efforts, saying they were losing hope of finding up to 70 people alive as the government declared the accident a disaster.
Zimbabwean authorities are expected to start retrieving trapped illegal gold miners on Friday but none are expected to have survived flooding in the shafts and the number of casualties could be about 50, state media reported.
At least 23 illegal miners are trapped and feared dead in Zimbabwe after shafts and underground tunnels they were working in were flooded by water from a burst dam, a state-owned daily newspaper reported on Thursday.
AT LEAST 23 illegal miners are trapped and feared dead in Zimbabwe after the shafts and underground tunnels they were working in were flooded by water from a burst dam.
